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Monday, October 24, 2016

I have a hypothesis regarding some of the impetus behind Trump and related hate rhetoric of recent years. It's the internet.

Ok, it's more than the mere existence of the internet. It's an originally unforeseen emergent property of the internet: No matter how wrong or bad the behaviors you exhibit or promote are, it's easy to find a population of people who'll support it. That's the "beauty" of an online network that transcends walls, streets, cities, and states. It's a strength of the internet that you can find those like you, with your same interests.

But that isn't where I'm going, because that's obvious. My hypothesis is that the internet is a great tool for self-delusion. Because here's the thing. You'll find tens, hundreds, or in the case of Trump, thousands of people willing to validate every "Sad," "really terrible," and racist implication you utter. But consider.

Which leads me back to the internet's role of self-delusion via non-statistical validation: It only takes a relatively small number of likes/loves/+1s/upvotes to make you think that the potentially sketchy thing you just said or posted was actually genius. Consider for a moment that internet validation might not be your best measure of what is actually moral, ethical, and reasonable.

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

I had to say goodbye to Posie today. Grief has me in its grip. The only constructive thing I've been able to do today is to assemble a photo album of some of my favorite moments with Posie. I adopted her in 2011, so she was only with us for five years.

Like all cats, Posie could be prickly. But she could also be sweet and affectionate. Sure, mostly when it was time to eat, but not always. She was a wonderful office companion, especially these last few years when I've been working from a home desk.